Bottle-capping machine



J. G. ROEHM E1 AL 2,006,776

July 2, 1935.

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July 2, 1935. J, G. ROEHM ET AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Original'jiled May' 1, 1931 14 Sheets-Sheet 9 2M ig m r 14 Sheets-Sheet 10 J. G. ROEHM El AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Original Filed May 1, 1931 AT: nuns aw as: 2 -26- y 1935- J. G. ROEHM El AL BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE .14 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 Original Filed May 1, 1931 July 2, 1935.

J. G. ROEHM El AL 2,006,776

BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINE Original Filed May 1, 1951 1.4 Sheets-Sheet 14 around the neck of milk bottles, or the like, for,

Patented July 2, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE-CAPPING MACHINE John George 'Roehm, Oneida, and Sherwood C. Bliss, Kenmore, N. Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Smith Hood 8: Seal Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application May 1, 1931, Serial No.

448,950. Divided and this application November 20, 1931, Serial No. 576,328

GClaims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in bottle-capping machines'bnd pertains more particularly to a machine adapted to form and secure a skirted cap over the mouth and maintaining the mouth of the bottles in a wholesome and sanitary condition.

This application is a division of our application on Bottle-capping machines, filed May 1st, 1931,

Serial N0. 448,950.

The skirted caps are preferably applied to the bottles or other containers after said bottles or containers have been filled and sealed by a suitwithout detection.

The main object of this invention is to produce an apparatus which will automatically form and apply the skirted caps to bottles or other containers successively and with great rapidity so that the containers may receive the skirted caps as expeditiously as the standard form of caps or covers are applied thereto by a conventional capping machine.

Another object is to provide means whereby a disc composed of paper or other suitable capforming material, is brought over the mouth of the bottle and then automatically fglded intoa skirted cap in such manner by the movement of the bottle and capping mechanism towards each other that the skirt of the cap will be about the neck of the bottle.

folded A further object is to firmly secure the folded skirt of the cap about the neck of thebottle by means of a stapling apparatus connected with the machine and by utilizing the resistance of the neck of the bottle for clenching the staples as they are driven through the folds of the skirt of the cap.

Still another object is to provide a staplingmeans whereby the ends of each staple will be bent inwardly towards each other when the staple is clinched.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the bottle-supporting mechanism and the capping mechanism may be relatively adjusted to permit the machine to be used in capping of different sizes and capacities.

bottles Other objects and advantages relating to the details of the structure and the form and relation of the parts thereof will more fully appear in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:- 5

Figure 1 is a top plan of a machine embodying the various features of this invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine as disclosed in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail vertical section taken in the plane of the line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail vertical section through the cam shaft taken in the plane of the line 4-4, Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a detail section taken in the plane of the line 5-5, Figure 4, with the cam section moved to the inoperative or at rest position.

Figure 6 is a face view of the drive clutch section taken in the plane of the line 6-6, Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 'I-l, Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 8-8, Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a detail section through one side of the clutch member taken in the plane of the line 9-8, Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a vertical section taken on line ll-IO, Figure 9.

Figure 1 1 is a detail vertical section taken on the line ll-l I, Figure 12.

Figure 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line l2-I2, Figure 3.

Figure 13 is a detail section taken on line [3-13, Figure 12.

Figure 14 is a section taken on line ll-ll, Figure 13.

Figure 15 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line l5-l 5, Figure 2.

Figure 16 is a detail section taken on the line 16-16, Figure 2.

Figure 17 is a detail cross section taken on line l'l-l'l, Figure 16.

Figure18 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line l8-l8, Figure 22. 5

Figure 19 is a detail vertical sectional view taken in the plane of the line I9-l9, Figure 15.

Figure 20 isa detail vertical section taken on line 20-20, Figure 8. I

Figure 21 is a detail vertical section through the bottle lifting plunger taken on line 2 l-2 I, Figure 12, I Figure 22 is :a detail vertical section of the bottle-capping mechanism taken on line 22-22, Figure 1.

Figure 23 is an enlarged detail section taken on line 23-23, Figure 24.

Figure 24 is an enlarged horizontal section taken through the stapling and folding mechanism in the plane of the line 24-24, Figure 22.

Figure 25 is an enlarged detail vertical section through one of the stapling mechanisms, taken in the plane of the line 25-25, Figure 26.

Figure 26 is a horizontal detail section taken in the plane of the line 26-26, Figure 25, with the neck of a bottle having a skirt of a cap in section in plait-folding and stapling relation therewith.

- Figure 27 is an enlarged detail section through the wire driving mechanism taken on line 21-21, Figure 24.

Figure 28 is a vertical section taken on line 28-28, Figure 27.

Figure 29 is a sectional view taken on line 29-29, Figure 28..

Figures 30 and 31 are enlarged detail horizontal sections of the forward end of one of the stapling devices illustrating respectively the manner in which the staple is cut and formed and driven into the folds of the bottle cap.

Figure 32 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of the line 32-42, Figure 3.

Figures 33 and 34 are detail cross sectional views taken respectively on lines 33-33 and 34-34, Figure 32.

Figure 35 is a detail section taken on line 35-35, Figure 1, showing a face view of the bottle-capping operating lever and the cross-head connected therewith.

Figures 36 and 3'7 are detail sectional views taken respectively on lines 36-36 and 31-31,

Figure 35.

Figures 38, 39 and are sectional views through the cap disc magazine taken respectively on lines 38-38, 39-39 and 40-40, Figure 1.

Figure 41 is a plan view of the pleat-forming plate taken on line 4 I-4I Figure 22.

Figure 42 is a fragmentary perspective view of thepleat-forming plate illustrating the manner in which the skirt of the cap is pleated. m

Figure 43 is a perspective view of one of the capforming discs.

Figure 44 is a perspective view of the completed cap formed upon the mouth of the bottle.

Figure 45 is a sectional view taken on line 45-45, Figure 44, in the plane of the staples.

As illustrated in the drawings, this machine is constructed to automatically cap one bottle at a time and is adapted'to be placed at any convenient location adjacent to and in co-operative relation with the usual conveyor used intransporting the bottles from 'a conventional capping machine to receive the bottles from said conveyor, and after applying the skirted caps thereto to return the bottles to the conveyor or other suitable carrier preparatory ,to crating and shipping the bottles.

The device consists of a frame having a motor, a cam shaft and, a bottle carrier construction connected therewith to operate in fixed relation to the frame and to each other and a bottlecapping mechanism adjustably mounted on the frame in co-operative relation with the cam shaft and bottle carrier construction and adapted to be adjusted relative thereto to permit the capping of bottles of different sizes and capacities.

' The frame as I is'preferably comprised of a bed plate 2 supported upon a plurality of, In this instance, four vertically disposed legs 3 positioned at respective corners of the plate 2. Each of the legs 3 may, as shown, be provided with an extension 4 removably secured to the bottom face of the legs by bolts 5. The leg extensions 4 are for the purpose of positioning the bed plate 2 in co-operative relation with a conveyor as A, Figure 1 used for transporting the bottles from a conventional bottle-capping machine and, therefore, the length of said extensions necessarily depends upon the distance the conveyor is positioned from the floor.

The various units of the machine may be driven in any suitable manner and for this purpose there is shown an electric motor as 6 mounted on a bracket 1 which is secured to the rear face of one of the legs 3 near one side of the frame I for operating a cam shaft 3 which is journaled in a vertical plane near theother side of the frame I, in a pair of brackets 9 and II).

The brackets 9 and III are mounted in spaced relation with one of the brackets as 9, positioned near the lower end of the cam shaft 9 and secured by screws II or otherwise to the rear face of the frame I while the bracket I9 is secured to the upper rear face of the bed plate 2 and extends upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to form the bearing support for .the upper end of the cam shaft 8.

The motor 6 is operably connected with the cam shaft 3 in the following manner: The armature shaft I2 of the motor is connected by a flexible coupling I3 to the driven shaft I4 of a speed reducing unit I5 composed of the required gear train I6 as the worm and gear to obtain the desired speed of the cam shaft 8.

The speed reducing unit I5 is secured by bolts or screws I! to the rear face of one of the legs 3 of the frame I with the drive shaft I9 thereof positioned co-axially with the cam shaft 8 with which the drive shaft I8 is releasably connected by means of a clutch member I9 mounted on the adjacent ends of the cam shaft and said drive shaft.

The clutch I9, in this instance, consists of an annular drive section 20 secured in any suitable manner to the upper end of the drive shaft I9 and a companion annular driven section 2| secured to the lower end of the cam shaft 8, as more clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

The upper face of the drive section 29 of the clutch I9 is provided with a slightly raised annular portion which is serrated to form ratchet teeth 22 formed withv the upper faces thereof beveled for the purpose of driving the clutch section 2I in one direction only. The driven section 2I is releasably connected with the drive section .20 by means of a latch member 24 which is slidablymounted in a vertically disposed slot 25 provided in the periphery of the driven clutch section 2I (see Figures 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10) The clutch latch 24 is held in the slot against lateral displacement by means of a pair of guide plates 26 and 21 secured by screws 23 in spaced relation tothe periphery of the driven clutch section 2I. The lower end of the latch 24 is beveled to conform to the face of the teeth 22 with which the latch is normally yieldingly held in engagement by a coil spring 29 positioned in a vertically disposed hole 29 provided in the upper end of the latch 24 with the upper end of the spring contacting with a spring retaining plate 39 positioned over the slot 25 and secured by screws 3| to the upper face of the driven clutch section 2I.

The outer vertical edge of the latch member 24 is provided with a slot :2 which has the upper wall 33 thereof slightly beveled upwardly and forwardly with the rear lower edge of said beveled wall registering when in the clutching position with the lower wall 34 of an annular groove 35 provided in the periphery of the driven clutch section 2| in registering alignment with the adjacent ends of the plates 26 and 21. The groove 35 is substantiallythe same depth as the slot 32 in the latch 24 and is adapted to receive therein one end of a latch releasing lever 36 which is pivotally connected at 31 to the lower face of the lower positioned cam shaft bracket 9.

The end of the latch release lever 36 adapted to engage the groove 35, has the inner edge thereof provided with an inwardly projecting flange 38 which is substantially the same width as said groove and has the inner vertical edge thereof slightly concave to conform to and engage the innor vertical wall 35' of the groove 35 when in the operative position in said groove.

The forward portion 38' of the upper face of the flange 38 is tapered forwardly and downwardly to form a knife edge at the forward end of the flange for engaging the tapered wall 33 of the slot 32 for lifting the latch 24 against the action of the spring 28, and thereby automatically disconnect the clutch sections by bringing the latch out of engagement with the teeth 22 of the drive clutch section, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 10 and thereby bring the cam shaft 8 and the several units driven thereby at rest when the latch release lever 36 is in the position shown by full lines in Figure 5.

The other end of the latch release lever 36 extends a short distance outwardly beyond the pivot 31 and is pivotally connected by a pin 40 to one end of a horizontally disposed connecting rod 4| which extends forwardly in a planebelow the bed plate 2 with the forward end thereof pivotally connected at 42 to a'bifur'cated rock arm 43 which is secured to the lower enact a vertically dis posed rock shaft 44. 1 J

The rock shaft 44 is journaled near itsdower end in one side of a bearing member 45, hereinafter more fully explained; while the uppe end of the shaft extends through and is journai'ed in the front portion of the bed plate 2 and has secured thereto one end of a horizontally disposed clutch release arm 46, (see Figures 11 and 12).

Intermediate the pivot 31 and the outer end of the latch release lever 36 is an integral forwardly extending arm 41 which has the forward end thereof curved at substantially right angles to itself and towards the cam shaft 8 and has a stud 48 secured thereto upon which is rotatably mounted a roller 49 adapted to contact with the peripheral wall of the driven cam section 2| for limiting the outward movement of the latch engaging end 38 of the latch release lever 36.

The roller 48 is yieldingly maintained in contact with the clutch section 2| by a tension spring 66 connected at one end to the pin 40 and at the other end to a stud secured to the rear portion of the frame I. 1

A cam segment 52 tapered at its forward end is secured to or made integral with the periphery of the clutch section 2| and positioned at one side of the groove 35 in the plane of travel of the roller 49 for the purpose of engaging said roller to rock the lever 36 about its pivot 31 against the action of the spring 56 and thereby restore the flange end 38 of the lever 36 to the latch releasingposition within the groove 35 during a portion of a revolution of the clutch section 2| after the arm 36 has been moved by the action of the spring 50 in a manner hereinafter more fully explained, to the inoperative position, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 5.

The clutch release arm 46 is positioned to op-' erate in a horizontal plane between the bed plate 2 and a bottle carrier 54 with the end which is secured to the rock shaft 44 positioned at one side of a vertically disposed shaft 55 for operating the carrier 54 and which is journaled in the bearing member 45 and a second member 56 provided in the frame I at the forward portion thereof.

The arm 46 extends rearwardly and to the the roller 6| being provided and positioned to be successively engaged by the bottles as they are received by the bottle carrier 54 from the conveyor A for automatically operating the clutch l9 to connect the cam shaft with the source of power, as the motor 6.

The rock arm 59, in this instance, is composed of two sections 63 and 64 adjustably mounted one upon the other (see Figures 12, 13 and 1'4). The lower section 63 has one end thereof extending rearwardly from the pivot 60 and provided with the notch 58 for engaging the clutch release arm 46. The other end of the arm extends forwardly from the pivotal screw 66 and is provided with a plurality of, in this instance, three apertures 65 adapted to receive a pin 66 therein. ,The pin 66 is secured to the upper section 64 of the arm 59 which has one end pivotally mounted on the screw 60 and the other end provided with the stud 62 and roller 6|.

In assembling the arm 59, the pin 66 may be positioned in one of the apertures 65 to properly position the roller 6| depending upon the diameter of the bottles to be capped and then the two sections are clamped together by a screw 61 which is mounted in the upper arm section 64 with the lower portion of the screw provided with a slot 68 adapted to engage the end edge of the lower arm section 63. A thumb screw 69 is screw threaded on the upper end of the screw 61 for securely clamping said arm sections together.

The arm 59 is maintained in spaced relation with the bed plate 2 by a spacing collar 10 mounted on the'pivotal screw 66 while the arm is yieldingly maintained in the operative position by a spring 1| coiled about the collar 10 with one end thereof secured in the bed plate 2 and the other mediate the outer end of the arm 59 and the pivotal screw 66 and secured to the upper face of the bed plate 2 by a screw 13. l a

It is now evident that when the clutch release arm 46 is engaged by the rock arm 59, the clutch latch release lever 36 will be positioned with the end flange 38 in the groove 35 in the, path of imovement of the latch 24 for disconnecting the 8 and 12, said cam shaft coming to rest in the" position shown in Figure 51 As soon, however, as the arm 59 is rocked to section 2| ahead of the cam 52, as illustrated by dotted lines, Figure 5, and in position to be engaged by the cam segment 52 which will rock the lever 88 and restore the end 38 to the latch releasing position in the groove 85 for disengaging the clutch'sections at the end of the cycle and,

at the same time, bring the clutch release arm 48 into holding engagement with the rock arm 58 to maintain the lever in the clutch-releasing position until such time as the arm. is again released by the rocking of the arm 58 from any cause, as by a bottle coming into contact with the outer end thereof.

The hereinbefore mentioned bottle carrier. 54 in this instance, is constructed to handle bottles of a given diameter and when bottles of a different diameter are to be capped, it is necessary to change the carrier to one adapted to handle such bottles, and for this reason, the carrier is removably mounted on the/upper end of the carrier 1 shaft 55 in a plane above the bed 2 of the frame I,

as more clearly illustrated in Figures 2,'3 and 19. The hereinbefore mentioned bearing members and for the bottle carrier shaft 55 are mounted in a downwardly projecting tubular extension I5 made integral with the bed plate 2.

The bearing member 45 is secured by a screw I6 in the lower end of extension I5 and extends below said extension to support the lower end of the shaft 55 while the bearing member 55 is mounted in the upper end of the extension and is provided with an enlarged portion 55' which extends above the bed plate 2.

The upper end 55' of the carrier shaft 55 extends above the bearing 58 and, in this instance, is made slightly larger in diameter than the remaining portion of the shaft and is provided with an enlarged integral annular flange 11 at the junction of the end portion 55' and the major portion of the shaft 55, said flange 11 being adapted to engage the upper end surface of the bearing 55 to limit the downward axial movement of the shaft 55.

The upper end 55 of the shaft 55 is also provided with a key I8 which extends diametrically through the shaft with the ends the eof projecting a short distance either side of t e shaft for registering in respective diametrically opposed slots 18 provided in the opening in the hub 88' of the bottlecarrier 54 for causing said carrier to rotate with the shaft 55 while the carrier is secured on the shaft between the flange and a wing nut 8I screw threaded on the outer end of the shaft portion 55' to prevent accidental displacement of the carrier and at the same time, provide for the quick and easy removal and changing of bottle-capping mechanism, hereinafter more fully described, and after the cap has been applied t return the bottles to the conveyor A.

The carrier 54 consists of a substantially flat body portion 84 having a plurality of, in this instance six, semi-circular bottle-receiving recesses 85 arranged in uniformly spaced relation circumferentially about the axis of the carrier shaft 55.

The recesses 85 are each constructed with a greater diameter than that of the bottles to be received therein and with the centers thereof lying in an arc concentric with the carrier shaft 55 and which passes through the vertical axis of the capping mechanism. Each recess 85 terminates at the outer edges thereof in a pair of spaced lugs 85 and 81 forming the mouth of the respective recess and having their opposed faces substantially parallel and spaced apart a distance slightly,

reater than that of the diameter of the bottle to permit the free entrance of the bottle in said recesses.

The lug 81 positioned at the rear of the respective recesses in the direction of motion of the carrier, is somewhat longer and projects outwardly farther than the other lugs 85 to provide a relatively broad surface contacting with the bottle for moving said bottlewith the carrier. Each of the recesses 85 are also provided with a plurality of, in this instance two, radial arms 88 spaced at substantially ninety degrees from each other and positioned at the forward side of the respective recesses.

The arms 88 extend above the body of the carrier a short distance to form a substantial support for the bottle and have their inner verti.

cal faces substantially perpendicular and spaced from the center of the recess a distance equal to the radius of the base of the bottle so as to bottle-capping mechanism, the bottle contained.

therein is brought into contact with the bottlesupporting arms 88 and, therefore, in operative alignment with the capping mechanism by meansof a bottle positioning arm 88 pivotally mounted at one end to a stud secured to the bed plate 2 a short distance at the rear of the axis of the capping mechanism and out of the path of movement of the bottle carrier 54.

The arm 88 extends a relatively short distance forwardly from the pivot 88 and outwardly beyond the outer adjacent edge of the frame I (see Figures 12, 32 and 33 The outer end of the arm 88 is pivotally connected at 8| to a rear-'- wardly extending .rod 82 which is pivotally connected at 88 to one end of a rock arm 84 which is journaled intermediate its ends on a shouldered stud 85 secured to the underside of the upper positioned cam shaft bracket I II (see Figure 3).

A roller 85 is rotatably mounted on a stud 81 secured to the inner end of the arm 84 for engaging the periphery of a cam member 88. which is secured to the cam shaft 8 by the screw 88 to rotate therewith, the roller 88 being held in constant contact with ,the cam 88 by means of a tension spring I 80 connected at one end to the outer end of the arm 88 and having the other end connected to a stud IIII which, in turn, is secured to the frame I.

The front vertical face of the arm 88 is provided with opposed beveled edges I82 to forma supporting way upon which is adjustably mounted a plate I03 which projects inwardly a short distance beyond the arm 89 and has its inner vertical edge I03 extended upwardly a short distance for contacting with and moving the bottle into contact with the positioning arms 88 of the respective recess of thecarrier 54. This positloning operation of the bottle is effected each time a recess appears in registration with the bottle-capping mechanism by the movement as the arm 89 is actuated by the cam 98 during each revolution of the cam shaft 8.

The plate I03 is adjustably clamped to the arm 89 by a clamping bolt I04 which extends through a vertically disposed aperture provided in the plate I03 intermediate the ends thereof, said bolt I04, in this instance, having a portion of one side thereof formed with a slot adapted to receive the way and being provided with a thumb nut I05 screw threaded on the upper end thereof, the plate I03 being adjustably clamped to the arm 89 to permit the positioning of the plate for bottles of different diameters.

A bottle guide bracket I06 is clamped to the forward portion-of the bed plate 2 to assist in guiding the bottle as it is moved by the carrier 54 from the conveyor A into registration with the bottle-capping mechanism and, for this purpose, the bracket I06 has its inner vertical edge I06 extended upwardly to form a substantial guide for the bottles.

The bracket is adjustably clamped to the bed 2 for guiding bottles of different diameters by a stud I0'I positioned in an elongated slot I08 formed in the bracket I06 and having one end thereof screw threaded in a ,bar I09 which, in turn, is secured to the bed plate 2 by screws IIO, said stud I01 being provided with a Wing nut III screw threaded on the outer end thereof for clamping the bracket I06 in a predetermined position. The bar II0 also registers in a suitable longitudinal groove II2 provided in the lower face of the bracket I06 for maintaining said bracket against pivotal movement about the stud IN. A curved guide bar II3 L-shaped in cross section is secured by screws 3' or their equivalent to the upper face of the bed plate 2 in spaced relation to and substantially concentric with the rear portion of the bottle carrier 54. The guide bar'extends from the vicinlty of the arm 89 to the front face of the bed plate 2 for guiding the bottles as they are moved by the carrier 54 from the capping position to the conveyor A (see Figures 1 and 32).

The bottle carrier 54 is intermittently rotated the distance between two adjacent bottle-receiving recesses 85 by the cam shaft 8 at each revolution of the shaft in the following manner:

Two shafts H4 and H5 are disposed in parallel spaced relation in substantially the same horizontal plane longitudinally of the frame I and below the bed plate 2.

The forwardly positioned shaft H4 is journa led in a bearing H6 secured to a-bearing supporting bracket II6 secured to or made integral with the frame I. The shaft II4 extends from the carrier shaft 55 rearwardly to a position intermediate the front andrear of the frame I and is operatively connected with the carrier shaft 55 by a pair of beveledgears H! (see Fig ures 8 and 19), one of which is secured to the forwardend of the shaft H3 and the other one to the lower end of the carrier shaft 55. The other horizontalshaft H5 is journaled in a bearing member I I8 mounted at'and secured to the rear portion of the frame I, said shaft .II5 being operably connected to the cam shaft 8 by means of a pair of beveled gears II9 (see Figure 4), one of said gears being connectedto the rear end of the shaft H5 and the other gear to the cam shaft 8 in a plane above the lower bearing bracket 9 and spaced therefrom by means of a thrust washer I20 for preventing downward axial movement of the cam shaft 8.

The shaft II5 extends forwardly from the cam shaft 8 to the vicinity of the inner end of the shaft H4 and has a crank arm I 2I secured thereto to rotate therewith and adapted to engage an indexing member as a star wheel I22 secured to the inner end of the shaft II4 to rotate therewith.

The star wheel I22 is provided with a plurality of, in this instance six, radial slots I23 (see Fig. ure 7) extending from the periphery inwardly and adapted to receive therein a roller as I24 pivotally mounted on a stud I25 secured to the free end of the crank arm I2I so that upon each revolution of the shaft H5 and crank arm I2I, the shaft I I4 will be moved the distance between two adjacent slots I23 or, in this instance, onesixth of a revolution by the action of the arm The peripheral face of the wheel I22 intermediate the radial slots I23 are concaved for receiving an annular disc I26 having a corresponding convex surface and secured or made integral with the crank arm I2I for maintaining said wheel in fixed position when not engaged by the roller I24. I

It is now evident that any rotary motion of the cam shaft 8 will be transmitted through the beveled gears II9 to the horizontal shaft II5 which, in turn,'transmits an intermittent rotary motion to the shaft II4 through the medium of the crank arm I2I and the star wheel I22 at each revolution of the shaft H5 and this intermittent motion is transmitted to the bottle carrier 54 through the beveled gears III and carrier shaft 55.

Associated with the bottle carrier 54 is a bottle supporting cylindrical plunger I28 mounted for vertical reciprocative movement in a pendant vertically elongated hollow boss or bearing I29 made integral with the bed plate 2, Figures 3, 12 and 15, and positioned at the rear and to one side of thecarrier supporting shaft 55 in co-operative alignment with one of the bottlereceiving recesses 85 of the carrier 54 so that the bottle, when moved by the carrier from the conveyor A, will come to rest upon the plunger I28 which when in the normal down position has the upper end surface thereof in the plane of the upper surface of the be plate 2.

The plunger I28 is moved vertically to force the bottle to and from its cap-receiving position and, for this. purpose, said plunger is provided with a diametrically disposed slot-I28 positioned near the lower end. thereof for receiving one end of a substantially horizontally disposed rearwardly extending rock arm I30. The forward end of the rock arm I30 enters the slot I28 throu'gh'a vertically disposed slot I29" formed in the rear wallfof the boss I29 in registration with the slot I28 in'the plunger I28. j

The end of the arm I30 disposed in the plunger slot I28 is' of less vertical height than said slot and has theupper and lower surface thereof curved longitudinally to'contact with adjacent eggs of a vertically disposed pin I3I and screw The screw I32 is screw threaded in the lower end of the plunger and secured therein by a lock nut I33 screw threaded on the outer end of the screw while the pin I-3I is adapted to contact with the upper face of the arm I33 and, for this purpose, is mounted for longitudinal movement in a vertically disposed bore I34 which extends from the slot I28'-to the upper end of the plunger in vertical alignment with the screw I32.

The pin I3 is yieldingly maintained in contact with the end of the arm I3! by means of a compression spring I35 positioned in the bore I34 between the pin I 3| and a screw I33 screw threaded in the upper end of the bore I34, said spring being of sufficient tension to support the weight of the plunger and the bottle B to be capped and thereby maintain the arm in contact with the screw I32 under normal pressure and, at the same time, provide a yielding connection between the arm and the plunger so that the bottle B may be brought, by the action of the arm, to the capping position without damage to the bottle.

The plunger I23 may be adjusted relative to the arm and bed plate 2 by the manipulation of the screw I32 to bring the upper end surface of the plunger in the plane of the upper surface of the bed plate 2 to smoothly receive the bottle from the bed plate as said bottle is being positioned on the plunger by the action of the bottle carrier 54 in a manner hereinbefore explained.

The plunger I28 is also provided with suitable longitudinally disposed slots or recesses I31, I33 and I33 formed in the peripheral wall thereof in vertical alignment respectively with the bottlesupporting arms 33 on the bottle carrier 54 and the bottle positioning plate I33 on the arm 33 -to permit the plunger to freely move past said arms and plate during the longitudinal movement thereof.

The arm I 33 is rotatably mounted intermediate its ends upon one end of a stud I43 secured to the frame I near the rear end thereof in a plane below the bed plate 2. The other or rear end of the rock arm I33 is provided with a roller stud I4I engaging in the cam groove I42 of the cam wheel I42 secured in any suitable manner as by a key I43 and set screw I44 to the cam shaft 3 intermediate the cam member 33 and one of the beveled gears I I3, Figure 4, so that upon each revolution of the cam shaft 3 and cam wheel I42, a vertical reciprocative movement will be imparted by the arm I33 to the plunger 123 to bring the bottle resting on the plunger to and from the capping position.

Bottle capping securing the skirted cap in position on said bottle,

all of which are mounted in co-operative relation with each other and with the bottle plunger I23 upon a vertically disposed supporting shaft I45 (leeFigures 3, 15 and 20).

'The shaft I45 is mounted for longitudinal vertical movement in the frame I for the purpose and connected therewith by a vertically disposed 7 of varying the relative position of the capping mechanism and the bottle-supporting plunger I23 for permitting the capping of bottles of different heights.

The supporting shaft I45, in this instance, is slidably mounted in the bore of a. downwardly extending tubular projection I48 made integral with the bed plate 2 and located at the rear and to one side of the axis of the bottle carrier 54. The supporting shaft I45 is splined by a key I46 secured to the shaft and registering in a longitudinal key way provided in the bore of the pro-' jection I45 to prevent rotation of the shaft while the shaft is adjustably maintained in a. predetermined flxed position by means of a lift collar I41 mounted on the reducedilower end I45 of the shaft I45 with the upper face of the collar in contact with the shoulder formed by said reduced portion (see Figures 3, 8 and 20).

The collar I" is provided with a lateral portion 1' having a vertical bore therethrough adapted to receive an adjusting screw I48 which has its upper and lower ends rotatably mounted in suitable apertures provided in the extension I45 and adjacent tie member 3 of the frame I respectively.

The screw I43 is held against axial movement by a collar I43 secured to the lower end of the screw in contact with the lower surface of the cross member 3' While a hand wheel I50 for rotating said screw is secured to the screw with the hub thereof contacting with the upper surface of said cross member so that the supporting shaft I45 and, therefore, the capping mechanism carried thereby may be elevated or lowered at will by the proper manipulation of the hand wheel I53 and screw I43 and then secured in the adjusted position against axial movement by means of a. pair of clamping sleeves I5I and I 52, said sleeves being slidably mounted in a bore provided in a horizontal bom I 53 extending inwardly from the adjacent side of the frame I and tangentially to the extension I45 for the supporting shaft I45 (see Figure 15), said bore being disposed tangentially to and partially intercepting the bore in said extension so that by positioning the sleeves I5I and I52 in spaced relation at opposite sides of the shaft I45, the opposed ends of the-sleeves may be brought into clamping engagement with the shaft I45 by means of a locking screw I54.

Said locking screw I 541s rotatably mounted in the outer positioned sleeve I5I with the inner end of the screw provided with threads and having threadedengagement with the inner positioned sleeve I52. The screw I54 is also provided with a head I54 of larger diameter than the screw and. adapted to. engage the outer end of the sleeve I 5I so that by the manipulation of the screw I54, the sleeves I5I and I52 may be moved to and from each other into andout of gripping engagement with the shaft I45.

The supporting shaft I45 extends a considerable distance above the bed plate 2, and in this instance, has the upper portion thereof provided with a bearing portion I45" slightly reduced in diameter and a still further reduced portion I45"" 

